Nigerian Air Force says the remains of it’s first female combat helicopter pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, were buried without any official autopsy because the family did not make any request for it.
NAF said an autopsy was not carried out on the late 24-year-old officer because the deceased’s parents were satisfied with the way the service handled the incident, making the need for the performance of such a process on her corpse unnecessary.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Ibikunle Daramola, disclosed this in an interview on Channels Televiasion on Friday.
Daramola said an autopsy was unnecessary because there was no doubt as to the cause and manner of Arotile’s death.
He said witnesses were at the scene of the accident, and it was clear that Arotile died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head caused by the vehicle hitting her from the rear.
The NAF spokesman added that the late officer’s father, Akintunde Arotile, also expressed confidence in the investigations of the Force and sought closure on the matter.
According to Daramola, “Autopsy was not done because it was not requested. The cause of death was already known based on investigation, and how she was taken to the hospital and the confirmation was made.
“There was no doubt in that regard and there was no request from the family for that specifically.”
Arotile was winged as NAF’s first ever female combat helicopter pilot on October 15, 2019, after completing her flying training in South Africa.
However, she died from head injuries sustained from a road traffic accident at NAF Base, Kaduna on July 14, 2020.
According to the official account, three of her former classmates, all civilians, spotted her walking on the base and accidentally knocked her down while trying to get her attention.
NAF ruled that her death was caused by blunt force trauma to the head, and significant bleeding resulting from being struck by the vehicle.
The true nature of her death has been debated in public with some suggesting NAF’s official account is not convincing.
Arotile was buried at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja on Thursday.
NAF, however, her killer would be handed over to the police on Friday for prosecution.
The force also said it had concluded plans to name the road inside the AirForce Base in Kaduna where the freak accident that cost Arotile her life occurred, as well as the Mammy Market along the same road after the 24-year-old late officer.
Other establishments such as the Combat Helicopters pilot building at the AirForce Base in PortHarcourt, Rivers State, NAF said, will also be named as monuments to immortalise the late female pilot.